(source-observed at Blackburn Elementary/ personal idea)
No one is allowed to touch the pencil sharpener but the teacher. Only get up when your pencil is unusable. Students do not bring pencils to class, there are two buckets in the back of the room. One bucket is labeled fresh pencils. These are freshly sharpened pencils with erasers. The second bucket is labeled pencil hospital. When entering class in the morning each student will get one pencil from the fresh pencil bucket. They will use the pencil until it runs out. They will quietly walk to the back of the room and place the pencil in the pencil hospital bucket and get a fresh pencil from the other bucket. No pencils leave the room. At the end of the day the teacher or assigned helper sharpens all the pencils in the pencil hospital bucket. This eliminates pencil confusion, and noise from pencil sharpener.
3) Bathroom Tickets
(source-personal idea)
The whole class will go to the restroom three times together, at the start of the day, at lunch, and after recess. At the beginning of each day prior to the students entering three sticky notes will be placed on the end of each student's desk. They can be used throughout the day to go to the restroom. Once the tickets are used up and the student has to go to the restroom, they will have to have a consequence (pull a ticket ext.). At the end of the day the passes can be turned in for small prizes like a piece of candy.
4) Finger indicators
(source- personal experience)
Establish as a class what each finger should mean. Raising a hand with one finger extended means the student needs to say something. Two fingers means the student needs the teacher to come to their desk. Three fingers means the student has to go to the bathroom. Post what each finger means on the board so there is no confusion. This cuts down on unwanted noise.
5) Water Fountain Procedure
(source- observed at Blackburn Elementary)
After recess/ any time the students are lined up at the water fountain this can be used. The teacher stands by the water fountain. As each child gets to the water fountain the teacher sings out "ONE TWO THREE SAVE SOME FOR ME", after the teacher has finished the rhyme the student has to step away from the water fountain. This is repeated until every child has had a chance to get water.
Get the students excited about all having a classroom job. Each day before classwork is started have all the students sit down in their desk. Pretend to be a game show host, bring in a pretend microphone. Tell the students that it is time for the jobs to be passed out. Have a box of popsicle sticks with a job listed on each one. Jobs can be added/ taken away depending on the needs of your classroom and the number of students you have. Go around the room and randomly lay a popsicle stick on each students desk. Explain to them that jobs can not be traded you have to keep the one that you have and you have to try and do it to the best of your ability all day long. Some examples of jobs consist of:
Paper Passers 1,2
Paper Collector
Supply Passers 1,2
Plant Waterer
Attendance Taker
Floor Monitor (makes sure the floor is clean at set points during the day)
Door Holder (not necessary if you teach kids to hold the door for the person behind them)
Line Leader (I don’t use this one or Line Ender because we have a set line order)
Line Ender
Desk Inspector (makes sure desks are clean)
Windows/Blinds Monitor (opens and closes as needed)
Media [TV, DVD, CD] Monitor (turns off and on, adjusts volume)
Cutters 1,2 (cuts out laminating, etc. for you)
Filers 1,2
Breakfast Helper (if kids eat in the classroom: supervises clean-up)
Trash Monitor
Board Eraser
Calendar Helper
Pledge/Flag Helper
Computer Helper (turns off/on; could also be in charge of trouble-shooting for kids)
Centers Monitor
Bulletin Board Helper (helps changes displays)
Dictionary Helper (passes out/collects)
Book Bin Helpers 1,2
Lamp Monitor (turns off/on)
Lights Monitor
Door Monitor (makes sure it’s locked, lets visitors in when they knock)
Lunch Count Helper
Cubby/Coat Closet Monitor
Sink Monitor (stands by sink when kids are lined up to wash hands)
Soap Helper (gives each child one small half-pump of soap)
Weather Helper
Hall Monitor
Token Helper (if you use the Token System)
Errand Runner
Drink Monitor
Recess Helper (carries materials out to the playground)
Homework Helper (makes sure kids have the right dittos/assignments copied)
Since I use a racing theme in my class room, I have a race car with the kid’s names on them. Each car has a small piece of magnet on the back and they hang on the file cabinet. Each day, the kids come in the room and they move their race car underneath their lunch choices (choice 1, choice 2 or lunch from home). It’s a three-fold tool-I know who is at school, I know what they want for lunch, and it’s a great way for them to show responsibility. After the first month or so, if a student is present and they don’t move their race car, I order their lunch for them. I usually only have to do that once because they like to order their own lunch. This would work for any theme in a classroom… just change the race car to whatever cut-out you want.
Make a poster board with the following information on it. Students will be able to refer to the poster when they finish work early.
Procedure if you finish your work early: Reread directions and double check your assignment. Finish other unfinished work. Do one of the following activities • Read silently • Study spelling words • Study math facts • Write a story
9) Count off line up
(source- observed at Blackburn Elementary school)
Each student in the classroom is assigned a number at the beginning of the year. The numbers will be 1-20(or however many students are in your classroom).
When it is time to line up the teacher raises her hand and yells out count off. The students will learn not to speak when the teacher's hand is in the air. The children will number off. After they say their number they will go to the back of the classroom. The next person is not allowed to say his or her number until the person before them has called out their number is in line. This will continue until each student has called out their number, silently walked to the back of the classroom, and formed a line. Students will be informed if they talk at all during this process they will have a consequence.
When a visitor enters the room, the first person who notices says“Class, we have a visitor!” The whole class says in unison, “Hi! We’re glad you’re here!” Then the students are supposed to be dead silent while the visitor says his piece. When the visitor leaves, someone (usually me) says, “Class, our visitor is leaving!” The whole class says in unison, “Bye! We’re glad you came!” We practice this by sending volunteers into the hall to enter and exit as visitors. It takes about five tries of each phrase to really get it down, but the exercise is well worth the effort. Our visitor procedure is one of the hallmarks of my class. It’s a really fun way to build community and greet people at the same time.
Classroom Procedure Activities and Examples for a Third Grade Classroom
1) Give Me Five
(source-http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=classroom%20procedures%20for%20third%20grade&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CDIQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fjm135.k12.sd.us%2FClassroom%2520Procedures.docx&ei=_LyyUOBthPj2BJPKgLAM&usg=AFQjCNE6Zi-oKXVChZ1gedvLEhBMsk7ZaQ)When you see the teacher’s hand raised and hear counting down……….
2) Pencil Procedure
(source-observed at Blackburn Elementary/ personal idea)No one is allowed to touch the pencil sharpener but the teacher. Only get up when your pencil is unusable. Students do not bring pencils to class, there are two buckets in the back of the room. One bucket is labeled fresh pencils. These are freshly sharpened pencils with erasers. The second bucket is labeled pencil hospital. When entering class in the morning each student will get one pencil from the fresh pencil bucket. They will use the pencil until it runs out. They will quietly walk to the back of the room and place the pencil in the pencil hospital bucket and get a fresh pencil from the other bucket. No pencils leave the room. At the end of the day the teacher or assigned helper sharpens all the pencils in the pencil hospital bucket. This eliminates pencil confusion, and noise from pencil sharpener.
3) Bathroom Tickets
(source-personal idea)The whole class will go to the restroom three times together, at the start of the day, at lunch, and after recess. At the beginning of each day prior to the students entering three sticky notes will be placed on the end of each student's desk. They can be used throughout the day to go to the restroom. Once the tickets are used up and the student has to go to the restroom, they will have to have a consequence (pull a ticket ext.). At the end of the day the passes can be turned in for small prizes like a piece of candy.
4) Finger indicators
(source- personal experience)Establish as a class what each finger should mean. Raising a hand with one finger extended means the student needs to say something. Two fingers means the student needs the teacher to come to their desk. Three fingers means the student has to go to the bathroom. Post what each finger means on the board so there is no confusion. This cuts down on unwanted noise.
5) Water Fountain Procedure
(source- observed at Blackburn Elementary)After recess/ any time the students are lined up at the water fountain this can be used. The teacher stands by the water fountain. As each child gets to the water fountain the teacher sings out "ONE TWO THREE SAVE SOME FOR ME", after the teacher has finished the rhyme the student has to step away from the water fountain. This is repeated until every child has had a chance to get water.
6) Popsicle Stick Job helpers
(source- personal idea)( list of the jobs source-http://thecornerstoneforteachers.com/free-resources/routines-and-procedures/class-jobs)Get the students excited about all having a classroom job. Each day before classwork is started have all the students sit down in their desk. Pretend to be a game show host, bring in a pretend microphone. Tell the students that it is time for the jobs to be passed out. Have a box of popsicle sticks with a job listed on each one. Jobs can be added/ taken away depending on the needs of your classroom and the number of students you have. Go around the room and randomly lay a popsicle stick on each students desk. Explain to them that jobs can not be traded you have to keep the one that you have and you have to try and do it to the best of your ability all day long. Some examples of jobs consist of:
7) Magnetic lunch counter/ Attendance
(source-http://tips.atozteacherstuff.com/116/attendance-and-lunch-count/)Since I use a racing theme in my class room, I have a race car with the kid’s names on them. Each car has a small piece of magnet on the back and they hang on the file cabinet. Each day, the kids come in the room and they move their race car underneath their lunch choices (choice 1, choice 2 or lunch from home). It’s a three-fold tool-I know who is at school, I know what they want for lunch, and it’s a great way for them to show responsibility. After the first month or so, if a student is present and they don’t move their race car, I order their lunch for them. I usually only have to do that once because they like to order their own lunch. This would work for any theme in a classroom… just change the race car to whatever cut-out you want.
8) Procedure for finishing work early
(source-http://teachers.net/lessons/posts/3148.html)Make a poster board with the following information on it. Students will be able to refer to the poster when they finish work early.
Procedure if you finish your work early: Reread directions and double check your assignment. Finish other unfinished work. Do one of the following activities
• Read silently
• Study spelling words
• Study math facts
• Write a story
9) Count off line up
(source- observed at Blackburn Elementary school)Each student in the classroom is assigned a number at the beginning of the year. The numbers will be 1-20(or however many students are in your classroom).
When it is time to line up the teacher raises her hand and yells out count off. The students will learn not to speak when the teacher's hand is in the air. The children will number off. After they say their number they will go to the back of the classroom. The next person is not allowed to say his or her number until the person before them has called out their number is in line. This will continue until each student has called out their number, silently walked to the back of the classroom, and formed a line. Students will be informed if they talk at all during this process they will have a consequence.
10) Visitor Procedure
(source-http://classantics.com/archives/2379)When a visitor enters the room, the first person who notices says“Class, we have a visitor!”
The whole class says in unison, “Hi! We’re glad you’re here!”
Then the students are supposed to be dead silent while the visitor says his piece.
When the visitor leaves, someone (usually me) says, “Class, our visitor is leaving!”
The whole class says in unison, “Bye! We’re glad you came!”
We practice this by sending volunteers into the hall to enter and exit as visitors. It takes about five tries of each phrase to really get it down, but the exercise is well worth the effort.
Our visitor procedure is one of the hallmarks of my class. It’s a really fun way to build community and greet people at the same time.